Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus capable of switching an operation mode to a power saving mode in which power consumption is low, an activation control method for the image forming apparatus, and a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium encoded with an activation control program that allows a computer controlling the image forming apparatus to execute the activation control method.
Description of the Related Art
There has been a growing demand for reducing power consumption of image forming apparatuses typified by MFPs (Multi Function Peripherals) when not driven in a standby state. In this respect, MFPs have been developed in which the CPU (Central Processing Unit) controlling the MFP and the RAM (Random Access Memory) used by the CPU as a working area stop being driven in a standby state. Meanwhile, it is necessary to minimize the time to enter a state in which the CPU can execute a program in order to recover from the standby state.
For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2012-249220 describes an image processing apparatus capable of executing a plurality of functions and having operation screens corresponding to the functions. The image processing apparatus includes a power control unit that switches a plurality of power supply modes including a normal mode and a low power consumption mode in which power consumption is lower than in the normal mode, a working memory in which data for implementing a function of the image processing apparatus is expanded in the normal mode, and a snapshot storing unit comprised of a nonvolatile storage medium for storing a snapshot that is image data of the data stored in the working memory, an activation processing unit that reads out the snapshot stored in the snapshot storing unit and restores the snapshot on the working memory when the low power consumption mode is shifted to the normal mode by the power control unit, a time acquisition unit that acquires an activation time corresponding to the restoring by the activation processing unit, a saving processing unit that stores the snapshot in the working memory into the snapshot storing unit in association with the activation time acquired by the time acquisition unit when the normal mode is shifted to the low power consumption mode by the power control unit, and a snapshot selecting unit that selects a snapshot to be read by the activation processing unit from among snapshots stored in the snapshot storing unit, based on the time of shifting and the activation time, when the low power consumption mode is shifted to the normal mode by the power control unit.
In the image processing apparatus described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2012-249220, since the snapshot is restored in the working memory, the time taken to recover from the low power consumption mode can be reduced when compared with a case where the program is expanded in the working memory. However, a predetermined time is required to restore a plurality of snapshots in the working memory.